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Old 7th Apr 2013, 20:49
  #929 (permalink)  
PANews
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Waltham Abbey, Essex, UK
Age: 77
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There is a perceived 'problem' raised by some in Europe that mainly affects the former Gendarmerie aircraft operators.

As you probably know a number of them eventually migrated to being 'taken over' by the civil authorities [from military to ministry of the interior]. This apparently simple move had a massive sting in the tail in that the engineering and support could move across to being civil [145] certified in the future but it left behind earlier airframes that could not/cannot be retreived into being a saleable commodity.

The result is that there are a number of airframes imprisoned in a 'no man's' land and virtually unsaleable. The Caribinieri in Italy managed to offload some of its AgustaBell 206s to a military user but that is not an option available to many with the ongoing military shrinkage. There are therefore plenty of machines just waiting for museums. They need more museums in Belgium and I suspect that the rebuild of MD900s to 902s may well offer a chance embrace the fleet a life under 145!

Future Euro police aircraft may be EASA compliant but the old stuff is a problem.
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